Study Of Grievance Procedure In Bharat Gears Limited Management Essay

The study has been undertaken to have better understanding of organization culture, with reference to grievance handling procedure followed in organization named Bharat Gears Limited. The management very kindly agreed to grant m permission for the same.

The company has automotive part manufacturing business. The company commenced its operations in 1974 and in a very short time, has been able to establish itself as a leading auto component manufacturing company.

The focus has been on Grievance handling procedure established by the company. The concept of grievance has been discussed and formal procedure followed generally in industries in India.

A sample of 15 employees were identified who were administered a detailed questionnaire seeking their reaction to grievance handling procedure. The survey showed that the main courses of grievance salary & bonus, & transportation. Further, transportation issues were sorted within 3 days. However, in case of salary & bonus there were delay in solving their grievances.

The employees were mostly satisfied with the functioning of the grievance handling. The interesting finding was that the seniors did not feel any difference in the behavior after their solution was reversed by their seniors.

However, no major grievances occurred which could force the management to change their personal policies.

It is recommended that there should be greater interactions between the supervisors and their subordinates so that the grievance doesn’t become grievances.

Further, system of payment of salary & bonus needs to be streamlined so that it does not remain cause of grievance in the company.

INTRODUCTION

“The term “grievance” is used to designate claims by workers of a trade union concerning their individual or collective right under an applicable collective agreement, individual contract of employment, laws, regulation, work rules, custom or usage. Such claims involve question relating to the interpretation or application of the rules. The term “grievance” is used in countries to designate this type of claim, while in some other countries reference is made to disputes over “right” or “legal” disputes”.

The grounds for a grievance may be any measure or situation which concerns the relations between employer and worker or which affects or may affect the conditions of employment of one or several workers in the undertaking when that measure or situation appears contrary to provisions of an applicable collective agreement or of an individual contract of employment, to work rules, to laws or regulations or to the custom or usage of the occupation branch of economic activity or country.

In our research project we are going to study Employee grievance in depth. The various causes that give rise to complaints and grievances, how these grievance when not resolved efficiently becomes critical grievance, what is the procedure of resolving the Grievance. This research is done taking Bharat Gears Limited in focus, all the Grievance the employees at Bharat Gears Limited are facing and what are their viewpoints as far as Grievance redressal procedure goes. Through personal interviews and questionnaires we have drawn this research report. On interviewing the employees’ supervisors and managers of Bharat Gears Limited we were able to draw that Grievance if are resolved on day basis will not become critical issues. There were major grievances amongst the employee like salary, bonus, working hours, canteen facilities etc., through this project we were able to know all these possible grievances and how the management handled the aggrieved employees and resolved the grievances and complaints of the employees. This project is a sneak peek into the Industrial Relation practices in the field of employee grievances and their relation with the management.

As part of this project I came to know the procedures that many organization use to redress employee grievances apart from the procedure that Bharat Gears Limited follows. We also interacted with those who are the concerned parties to Employee Grievance issues apart from the aggrieved employees in the organization

OBJECTIVE

The purposes of the research are the following:

To understand the Grievance Procedure existing in BGL

To find out the major causes of Grievances of the employees

To find out the satisfaction or otherwise of the employees with the grievance procedure.

To determine if there is any changes introduced in the Personnel Policy.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A grievance is a complaint by an employee that something in the management’s behaviour has breached his or her employment rights and that he or she is unhappy about it. It may be real or it may be the result of a misconception or a misunderstanding.

According to Michael Jucius, ” A grievance can be any discontent dissatisfaction, whether expressed or not, whether valid or not, and arising out or anything connected with the company that an employee thinks, believes, or even feels as unfair, unjust, or inequitable.” A grievance means any discontentment or dissatisfaction in an employee arising out of anything related to the enterprise where he is working. It may not be expressed and even may not be valid. It arises when an employee feels that something has happened or is going to happen which is unfair, unjust or inequitable, thus, a grievance represents a situation in which an employee feels that something unfavorable to him has happened or is going to happen.

The purpose of managing grievance is to rectify matters that have been and are going wrong, by:

Investigating the situation

Identifying what has caused the employee complaint

Talking the appropriate action to resolve the complaint to the mutual satisfaction of the employee and the management.

Managing grievance is, however, primarily a line manager’s responsibility. In this line managers require help, advice support and expertise from the employee relations procedures and training line managers to operate these procedures in a fair, reasonable and consist manager.

Employee grievances are an outward expression of worker dissatisfaction which, if not resolved can result in unsatisfactory work behaviour which has adverse consequences for the organization’s competitive position.

Unresolved dissatisfaction arises due to:

Employee frustration

Deteriorating interpersonal relationships

Low morale

Poor performance, seen in lower productivity and a poorer quality of output or service

Disciplinary problems, including poor performance by employees

The resignation and loss of good staff

Increased employee absenteeism

The withdrawal of employee goodwill

To resistance to change- if employee feel they have been treated badly, they are likely to be resistant to proposed changes

THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE:

An important aspect of grievance machinery is the reassurance given to an individual employee by the mere fact that there is a mechanism available to him which will consider his grievance in a dispassionate and detached manner, an that his point of view will be heard and given due consideration. Built into this are safeguards against victimization, for instance, the grievance concerns a superior’s action.

Putting forward grievances and discussing them, even if they are not ultimately settled in the employee’s favour, gives a worker the satisfaction of having communicated with, and been heard by, the management.

The supervisor is the first level in the grievance machinery. If there is no formal procedure and the firm announces an open door policy, then it is possible that the supervisor may get bypassed by the worker who would take his grievance directly to the higher levels of management.

On the other hand, exclusive reliance on the supervisor can jeopardize the interest of the employee. The supervisor may exert his hierarchical superiority and not want to be challenged, or may not be resolved to the satisfaction of the employee. For instance, the supervisor may lack the necessary human relations skills, in terms of understanding worker needs and feeling, or he may lack the authority to take action to resolve the problem.

Involving the supervisor’s middle and senior line managers in the grievance process helps on two dimensions, firstly, the social barrier that exist between the various categories are, to some extent, broken by personal contract, and mutual understanding. Secondly, the problem solving approach integrates the various levels in the organization into a team to jointly overcome the problems which concerns not only the worker but the manager also.

Grievances are symptoms of conflicts in industry. Therefore, management should be convinced with both complaints and grievances, because both may be important indicators of potential problems within the workforce. Without a grievance procedure, management may be unable to respond to employee concerns since managers are unaware of them. Therefore, a formal grievance procedure is a valuable communication tool for the organization.

It is necessary to distinguish a complaint from grievance. A complaint is an indication of employee dissatisfaction that has not been submitted in written. On the other hand, a grievance is a complaint that has been put in writing and made formal.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Grievance procedure is formal communication between an employee and the management designed for the settlement of a grievance. The grievance procedures differ from the organization to organization.

1. Open door policy

2. Step ladder policy

OPEN DOOR POLICY

Under this policy, the aggrieved employee is free to meet the top executives of the organization and get his grievances redressed. Such a policy works well only in small organizations. However, in bigger organizations, top management executives are usually busy with other concerned matters of the company. Moreover, it is believed that open door policy is suitable for executives, operational employees may feel shy to go to top management.

STEP LADDER POLICY

Under this policy, the aggrieved employee has to follow a step by step procedure for getting his grievance redressed. In this procedure, whenever an employee is confronted with a grievance, he presents his problem to his immediate supervisor. If the employee is not satisfied with superior’s decision, then he discusses his grievance with the departmental head. The departmental head discusses the problem with joint grievance committees to find a solution. However, if the committee also fails to redress the grievance, then it may be referred to chief executive. If the chief executive also fails to redress the grievance, then such a grievance is referred to voluntary arbitration where the award of arbitrator is binding on both the parties.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE IN INDIAN INDUSTRY:

The 15th session of Indian Labor Conference held in 1957 emphasized the

Need of an established grievance procedure for the country which would be acceptable to unions as well as to management. In the 16th session of Indian Labor Conference, a model for the grievance procedure was drawn up. This model helps in creation of grievance industry. The model grievance procedure specifies the details of all steps that are to be followed while redressing grievances. These steps are:

STEP 1: In the first step the grievance is to be submitted to departmental representative, who is a representative of management. He has to give his answer within 48 hours.

STEP 2: If the departmental representative fails to provide a solution, the aggrieved employee can take his grievance to head of the department, who has to give his decision within 3 days.

STEP 3: If the aggrieved employee is not satisfied with the decision of departmental head, he can take the grievance to grievance committee. The Grievance Committee makes recommendations to the manager within 7 days in the form of report. A final decision of the management on the report of Grievance Committee must be communicated to the aggrieved employee within 3 days of the receipt of report.

A MODEL OF A GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL PROCEDURE:

Aggrieved Employee

Departmental Representatives

Head of Department

Grievance Committee

Chief Executive

Voluntary Arbitration

SETTLEMENT OF GRIEVANCE

PROFILE OF BHARAT GEARS LIMITED

Incorporated on 23rd December 1971, BGL is India’s largest gear manufacturer. BGL entered into the technical know how with Holcroft for manufacturing Furnaces from May 1983 to Dec. 2006 and with ZF Friedrichshafen, AG, Germany, in 1985 to Mid May, 2007 technical & Financial collaboration for manufacturing Gear Boxes.

The OEM segment of market is being serviced from the Mumbra plant. The BGL acquired facilities at Faridabad in May 2000 at substantial investment, to tap replacement market that comprises about 50% of the auto component industry.

Apart from being the largest manufacturer of gears for OEM’s in India, BGL is a major exporter to countries around the world.

BGL MISSION STATEMENT

To retain and reinforce our position as a leading Indian manufacturer of automotive gears and aggregates and meet the aspirations of customers in domestic and export markets. This will be achieved through on-time zero defect supplies backed by responsive service, empowered employees, vendor partner and satisfied investors.

BGL VISION STATEMENT

We, the proud members of the BGL family, shall strive vigorously to delight our customers and stakeholders who are our very purpose, by pursuing excellence and innovation through committed team work. To this end we shall promote continuous learning, achievement orientation and ethical business practices, which will make us shine as a global player.

The Annual Sales Turnover of the organization for the year ending 31st March, 2009 was Rs.2670.61 millions and Profit for the same period was Rs.230 millions.

The Organization has 1,259 employees spread over two plants and the corporate office.

Various Transmission Gears for Truck and Tractor Application

Axles Fly Wheel Rings

Sector Shaft and Steering Worm

Gear Box Housing and Differential Cage

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OF BHARAT GEARS LTD. LIMITED

EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE OF BGL

At BGL a formal procedure is followed wherein a complaint is filed to record the grievance the employee is facing. The procedure is followed

Senior manager or HR manager

Joint body Management and Employee Representation

Independent Arbitration

Departmental Manager

Supervisor

Complainant

THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE IS :

An aggrieved employee shall first present his grievance verbally in person to the officer designated by the management for this purpose, in BGL this appointed person is the line manager. An answer shall be given within 48 hours of the presentation of the complaint.

If the worker is not satisfied with the decision of this officer, or fails to receive an answer within the stipulated period, he shall present his grievance to the head of the department designated by the management for the purpose of handling grievances. The departmental head shall give his answer within 2 days

If the decision of the department head is unsatisfactory, the aggrieved worker may request that his grievance be forwarded to the grievance committee, which shall make its recommendations to the manager within 5 days of the worker’s request.

In the event of a difference of opinion among the members of grievance committee, the matter shall be placed before the manager for the final decision. The final decision of the management shall be communicated within 2 days

In case the decision of the management be not forthcoming within the stipulated period, or it is found unsatisfactory, the worker shall have the right to appeal to the management for a revision. The management shall communicate its decision within a week.

If no agreement is still possible, the union and the management may refer the grievance to voluntary arbitration* within a week of the receipt by the worker of the management’s Â·decision.

METHODOLOGY:

SIZE OF POPULATION: There are 621 employees located at the Faridabad Plant

METHOD OF SAMPLE COLLECTION: The sample collection method used is convenient sampling is used. A sample size of 15 respondents has been selected for this research.

METHOD FOR COLLECTION OF DATA: Questionnaires and Personnel Interviews have been used to collect the information from the respondents. The different questionnaires have been used for employees and for Managerial level respondents.

STATISTICAL TOOLS FOR THE ANALYSIS: The data has been analysed with the help of SPSS programme.

LIMITATIONS: The main limitation for this project has been the time factor.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected with the help of the questionnaire from the employees has been analyzed, question-wise.

IS THE ORGANIZATION FACING CRITICAL EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE ISSUES?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

No

Total

6

9

15

40.0

60.0

100.0

40.0

60.0

100.0

40.0

60.0

100.0

60% denied any presence of critical employee grievance in the organization, though they agreed to the fact that petty issues are there complaints but they don’t reach the level of being a grievance.

But all those who agreed on the presence of employee grievances informed that these grievances are grave in nature and sometimes the authority takes time to give a relevant solution.

CAN YOU ELABORATE THOSE EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Salary &Bonuses

Transportation

Leaves

Total

8

5

2

15

53.3

33.3

13.3

100.0

53.3

33.3

13.3

100.0

53.3

86.7

100.0

53% of the employees say that salary & bonus is one such issue wherein the employees have maximum dissatisfaction and most of the times they face grievances if not resolved properly.

On transportation issues, the location of BGL in Faridabad is a major factor but this issue is resolved within 3 days of the complaint

WHO IS THE NEXT LEVEL OF AUTHORITY IN WHICH THE GRIEVANCES ARE REPORTED?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Supervisor

Line manager

Total

11

4

15

73.3

26.7

100.0

73.3

26.7

100.0

73.3

100.0

LINE MANAGER

SUPERVISOR

When asked this question 73.3% respondents replied that the respective supervisor is the next line of authority if they have any complaints or grievance.

HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED ANY GRIEVANCE/DISSATISFACTION DURING YOUR TENURE IN BGL?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

No

Total

13

2

15

86.7

13.3

100.0

86.7

13.3

100.0

86.7

100.0

NO

YES

86.7% respondents have experienced one or the other grievance.

WHAT WAS THE GRIEVANCE THAT YOU HAD? AND WHAT WAS THE REASON BEHIND SUCH DISSATISFACTION?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Salary &Bonuses

Transportation

Leaves

NA

Total

7

3

2

3

15

46.7

20.0

13.3

20.0

100.0

46.7

20.0

13.3

20.0

100.0

46.7

66.7

80.0

100.0

47% of respondents had the grievance towards salary & bonus being awarded to them. It was mentioned that the management took time to reach to a convincing figure. The respondents also mentioned that bonus amount was also a critical issue wherein some 20 days were taken by the management to reply.

IN HOW MANY DAYS WAS THE ISSUE RESOLVED?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid 2-3 days

Within a week

Within 10 days

NA

Total

5

5

2

3

15

33.3

33.3

13.3

20.0

100.0

33.3

33.3

13.3

20.0

100.0

33.3

66.7

80.0

100.0

67% of respondents said that their grievances were resolved within a week of their grievance being forwarded.

WERE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE SOLUTION PROVIDED TO YOU?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

No

NA

Total

11

1

3

15

73.3

6.7

20.0

100.0

73.3

6.7

20.0

100.0

73.3

80.0

100.0

NA NO

YES

73.3% of respondents were satisfied and happy with the solution provided to them for the grievance

DID ANY OTHER CO-WORKER EXPERIENCED SIMILAR GRIEVANCE/DISSATISFACTION?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

NA

Total

12

3

15

80.0

20.0

100.0

80.0

20.0

100.0

80.0

100.0

NA

YES

80% respondents replied that other employees also had the same grievances.

WAS THE MANAGEMENT COOPERATIVE WITH YOU OR WAS THERE A

CHANGE IN THEIR BEHAVIOR TOWARDS YOU AS AN EMPLOYEE?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

No

NA

Total

11

1

3

15

73.3

6.7

20.0

100.0

73.3

6.7

20.0

100.0

73.3

80.0

100.0

NO

NA

YES

A total of 73.3% respondents replied that the management was highly cooperative towards them for the grievance and made an honest attempt to resolve it at the earliest

Also these respondents mentioned that there was no change in the attitude of the managers and HOD behavior once the grievances were taken care of.

ARE YOU HAPPY AND SATISFIED WITH THE PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING AND RESOLVING GRIEVANCES OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?

IF NO, PLEASE ELABORATE THE REASONS?

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes

No

NA

Total

10

2

3

15

66.7

13.3

20.0

100.0

66.7

13.3

20.0

100.0

66.7

80.0

100.0

67% respondents were satisfied with the solution provided to them for the grievances. They said that the solution was something they were looking forward for as a perfect remedy.

On a general overview, when questioned to the employees and the HR as well as the IR Manager on the change in HR policies due to grievances, the Responses were.

The HR and IR Managers said that no grievance of late had resulted in the change in HR policies of the organization.

CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS:

To conclude and summarize the findings of this research, we find that the organization has very well defined and laid down grievance procedure. The Procedure is based on the Model Grievance Procedure practised in Indian Industry.

A formal grievance procedure has the advantage that facts rather than perceptions speak for themselves. This ensures parity of individuals and objectivity as far as treatment from management is concerned. If both parties used the grievance procedure meticulously, then firmness would not be resented because the worker wants above all, “fairness” in treatment.

It is found that majority of the employees are not facing any major grievances in the organization, although there are complaints but the same are attended to immediately and the same get settled.

The majority of causes of grievances of the employees pertained to salary & bonus and transportation. However, the issue with regard to transportation got sorted out within a short time.

Majority of the grievances/complaints were attended to by the supervisors and the same were handled and resolved at this level. Very rarely the matter was referred above to the HOD.

87% of the respondents faced one or the other grievance during their stay with the organization. It may be noted that the average stay of the employees at the time of the survey was 3 years.

The management was taking more time to sort out grievances regarding salary and bonus, at times 20 or more days. However, the other grievances were resolved within 3 days.

Majority of the employees had similar grievances. However, the behaviour of the seniors did not change when their grievances were resolved against what the seniors had done.

66% of respondents felt the solutions for grievances were satisfactory and most of the employees were more than happy with the procedure and approach management followed in resolving their grievances.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

One of the areas which need greater attention from the management is “Salary & Bonus”. Management should bring make system of salary and other payments very brief and the concerned authorities should be made clear. This will enable the employees get their complaints attended to immediately and resolved.

Most of the complaints arise due to payment of incentives/production bonus. It is suggested that the method of working out the payment should be put in writing and circulated to the concerned employees.

It is suggested that there should be greater interaction between the immediate supervisor or the HODs with their subordinates.

Finally, it is suggested that the background of the employees who have grievances should be analyzed and the grievances should be seen in that context.

Annexure II : Employee Grievance : Questionnaire

Name of the Respondent: ______________________________________________

Job Title :_____________________________________________________________